1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular, to a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for pricing items in a retail environment. In particular, the present invention is directed to a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for generating competitive targeted pricing and location sensitive retail pricing and inventory comparison.
2. Description of the Related Art
A customer, looking to buy an item, such as a product or a service, has different methods available for price comparison of the item. For example, retailers provide pricing information to customers through advertising using radio, television, magazines, newspapers, email messages, and websites media. Such pricing information from one retailer is readily compared with similar information provided by other retailers. Sometimes, some retailers directly or indirectly compare their prices for certain items with competing items.
A customer may find a desired item among the information dispersed and compared by a retailer. Alternatively, a customer may utilize services that do the comparison for the customer. Online services on the Internet provide comparative pricing for a item from several retailers. In this manner, the customer can select from whom to buy the item to obtain the lowest price.
Furthermore, discounts may be offered by a retailer to all customers. These discounts may further adjust the retailer's price for an item for all customers. Some retailers offer preferred customer discounts and other promotions. These offers may further adjust the price of the item for select customers. Some comparison shopping services, especially the online services, afford the customers the ability to perform comparison shopping using a computer at home.
However, the presently available retailing systems and comparison shopping systems suffer from some limitations. When a customer is shopping in a physical store, these methods do not provide the necessary information for comparison shopping around the customer's present location. Further, when a customer is in a store, and in close proximity to a item that the customer wants to buy, the pricing information available to the customer is limited to the price at the store where the customer is located.
Retailers presently employ methods for targeted advertising of their own items while the customer is in their stores. However, the interest of an advertising retailer is to sell more of their own items. These interests do not enable the customer to compare the retailer's prices with the retailer's competitors' prices for the item the customer wants to buy.